Gift of the Fates
by TheLestrangeMistress
Summary: They were sent to me by the Fates. I would be a fool to turn down such a gift from them.


**A/N: This was my entry for the hprarefest in 2016. The prompt was** **Hermione does a spell by accident, which binds her to these men. Beta'd by H.**

"What did you expect would happen when you cast the spell? That you would get a knight in shining armour?" Rodolphus spat.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione replied crossly.

In truth, Hermione had not expected anyone to come back from the dead. All she had wanted to do was talk to someone on the other side. It appeared, however, that luck was not on her side.

"Do you know what the spell you cast would do before you did it?"

"It said that the caster would be able to summon the shadows of the dead. I wanted to talk to someone as part of an ongoing top secret project for the Department of Mysteries," Hermione informed them.

She was unwilling to divulge any more information than that. It was something that the Minister had charged her with, despite the fact that she wasn't part of the Department of Mysteries.

Rodolphus shook his head while Rabastan scrutinised her face.

"You're not lying, are you? You truly did not know that the spell would summon us back from the dead," Rabastan asked.

"No, I didn't," Hermione answered, feeling slightly sick.

"Why don't we just tell her what she's done, Rabastan? That way we can get on with it," Rodolphus said, sounding irritated.

Rabastan sighed.

"The spell was created by a witch who did not want to marry the man her father had chosen for her, and so she developed a spell which would ask the Fates to bring her a husband. The only condition of the spell was that the husband had to have been deceased at the time of its casting," Rabastan explained.

Hermione's eyes widened at the implication of what Rabastan had just told her.

 _Married? To both of the Lestrange brothers? No, that was not possible,_ Hermione thought.

It was something that her brain didn't want to process, but why would they lie about it? They knew that she could get someone to translate the spell again and inform her whether they were lying or not.

They're telling the truth, Hermione realised.

"So we're...married now," she said slowly.

"Yes, we are. The Fates obviously thought that the two of us were your 'perfect match' so to speak," Rabastan answered.

Hermione remained silent for a moment. Getting married was something she had not expected to happen so soon, and certainly not with the men in front of her. Hermione had learnt over the past few years though, that everything happened for a reason.

They were sent to me by the Fates. I would be a fool to turn down such a gift from them.

After the war, Hermione had asked Luna about different magic, like the one of the hallows, and after being taught that there were several 'lost' branches of magic that were no longer practiced, Hermione decided to study them more closely. It took her a few years to accept the old kinds of magic, but once they were demonstrated to her, Hermione fully believed in them.

"What would you like to do first? Rest, eat, or see the Minister?" she asked them.

"You're just accepting this?" Rodolphus asked incredulously.

"Yes, I am. Who am I to challenge the Fates? Like Rabastan said, they obviously think we are compatible, and I don't see why we can't try and make this work. I'm sure it will be difficult at times, but what relationship doesn't have problems?" Hermione remarked.

"I suppose I can believe that. What do you think is the best option about what we do first?"

"I think you should eat and rest before you see the Minister. I can owl him today and ask him to make a house call tomorrow. That way no one will panic when they see two supposedly dead people walking around."

"Sounds like a good idea," Rabastan nodded.

After a short discussion about what food the brothers wanted, Hermione started cooking for all of them.

It felt strange to be in such a domesticated setting with them, and it would take her a while to get used to it.

"I was wondering if you would consider moving into the Lestrange Manor. It has been in our family for generations and I would like it not to fall into ruin," Rodolphus said casually.

"It would still need some repairs before we move in, but it has a lot more room than your flat. If this does work out, then we will need the extra space for any children we have," Rabastan added.

Hermione felt the food in her mouth turn to cardboard when children were mentioned. As much as she was ready to give the brothers a chance at marriage, her mind had not thought that far ahead.

"I will think about it. Maybe you could show me around after the meeting with the Minister," Hermione replied diplomatically.

"We would love to."

The next day came around extremely quickly, and Hermione found herself pacing in front of the fireplace waiting for Kingsley Shacklebolt to come through the Floo.

When the fireplace turned green, she stepped back a little so he would have enough space to step out.

"Hello, Hermione, it's good to see you. May I know why all the urgency and secrecy?"

"Maybe you should come into the lounge. You will get a better understanding there."

Kingsley Shacklebolt followed with a curious expression on his face, which turned into disbelief at the sight of the Lestrange brothers, alive and well.

"How did this happen?" he asked, switching his gaze from the brothers to Hermione.

"You know the spell I found for the project?"

Kingsley nodded.

"I mistranslated it. Instead of it being bringing shadows of the dead back, it was bring the dead back from the shadows. The spell brought them back with the aid of the Fates, and now we are bound."

"Bound?" he blurted out uncharacteristically.

"Yes."

"Does anyone else know?" Kingsley asked.

"No," Rabastan replied.

"Owl who you must tonight, and I will make an announcement to the press tomorrow evening. I will have your mail redirected so that no threats or hexes reach you," he informed them.

"Thank you, Kingsley," Hermione said gratefully. She remembered the undiluted Bubotuber Puss sent to her after Rita Skeeter's article in Witch Weekly and shuddered.

"It's no problem, Hermione," he said kindly. "If you have problems, just owl me and I will see what I can do."

The brothers nodded, showing their gratefulness.

"I had better get back to the office. Don't worry about the project, Hermione. I will be putting it on hold indefinitely," he informed her before striding back into the other room.

"Well, that was interesting. A Minister who actually cares about his people," Rodolphus commented.

"Kingsley has always cared about the people. It's the reason he became an Auror, and when the war ended, he helped repeal the laws which discriminated members of our world which saw him permanently elected," Hermione informed them.

"You forgot to mention that he was in the Order," Rabastan pointed out.

Hermione shrugged.

"I didn't think I needed to mention it, seeing as you already knew that."

Silence enveloped them for a moment.

"Why don't we go and visit the manor now? You did say you would go after meeting the Minister," Rodolphus said rather eagerly.

"Of course. Just let me put some proper shoes on and I will be ready to go," Hermione replied, trying to sound enthusiastic.

On the inside, Hermione was dreading it. The Lestrange family was considered dark, and if Grimmauld Place was anything to go by, she would hate it.

When they were gathered in front of the fireplace, Rabastan informed her to call out 'Lestrange Manor' when she Flooed and she should appear in the main entrance hall.

The brothers went first and once they had gone Hermione took a deep breath and steeled her resolve before going through herself.

When she stepped out on the other side, Hermione was surprised to find something different than what she expected.

The room was light and airy, with several windows letting the sunshine pour in. It was decorated with creams and light greens which made the room look even warmer.

"It's beautiful," she said in awe.

"If you like this, then you will definitely like the rest of the manor. Our mother insisted on brightening it up once she moved in," Rabastan commented with fondness.

"What was your mother like?"

"Her name was Grace and she was a kind woman. She was strict with us when she needed to be, but most of the time we got away with things. She made sure that we were taught the ways of our house, and what it meant to be a pureblood. She constantly told us how proud she was of us, until she died ten years after I graduated from Hogwarts," Rabastan said wistfully.

"I'm sorry, it's hard to lose someone you love," Hermione said sadly.

"What happened to your parents? We know that a team was sent to find them, but found no one," Rodolphus asked curiously.

"I modified their memories and sent them to Australia under false names. I found out after the war that they died in a boating accident. They died not even knowing I existed," she informed them tearfully.

"I'm sorry," Rodolphus apologised sincerely.

Hermione noticed that it was the first time he seemed genuine when talking to her.

"Would you like to show me the rest of the manor now?" she said.

She did not want to talk about the deaths of her parents anymore, and she was certain that it was the same for the brothers.

"We would love to," Rabastan replied, offering her his arm.

Hermione took it and walked through the door with Rodolphus close behind.

Several hours later, Hermione returned to her flat alone. She could not dispute that the manor was beautiful and extremely spacious. Rodolphus and Rabastan had been right when they said that it would make a better home than her flat.

There wasn't as much work to do as she had thought. There were a few problems like mould, and damp which needed to be sorted out, but apart from that, everything was flawless. The decor was elegant and bright, and there wasn't anything too ostentatious about the place. It was a perfect place to live.

Hermione sat thinking about how her life had changed in the past twenty four hours. She had gone from being single to being married to two former Death Eater's, and she had agreed to move in with them.

It was rather quick, and Hermione was sure that they would end up having many arguments in the next few months, but she had a feeling that it would be worth it.

 _I dread telling Neville, Harry, and the Weasleys,_ she thought.

She hoped that they would accept her situation, even if they didn't like it. She also hoped the fact that the match had been made by the Fates would warm them up to it. Although, there was no way to know until she told them tomorrow morning.

 _Three years later_

"Don't do that!" Hermione squealed.

"Why not?" Rabastan asked as he stopped tickling her sides.

"You know I don't like being tickled," she said, biting her lip.

"If I must," Rabastan sighed, caving into her request.

"Can you two be a little quieter.? My head is still sore from last night," Rodolphus muffled from behind Hermione.

"Well, you shouldn't drink as much then," Hermione scolded him playfully.

"Blame Potter. He was the one who persuaded me to participate in that damned drinking game."

The truce between the brothers and her friends hadn't come easy. It was only after Hermione had been nearly attacked in the street three months after Rodolphus and Rabastan had returned that they started to come around. The brothers had protected her and stopped the attack, and only after they restrained the perpetrator instead of attacking them back did her friends see that the brothers were trying to change their ways.

"I am sure that he is suffering too, and knowing Ginny, she won't give him a hangover potion. Yours, however, is on your bedside table," Hermione informed him.

"Thank you, love. What would I ever do without you?"

"I have no idea," Hermione said, turning around and kissing him deeply.

"Don't forget about me!" Rabastan exclaimed.

She broke the kiss with Rodolphus and turned back to Rabastan.

"How could I ever forget you?"

Hermione saw the love and affection in his eyes and knew that she had made the right decision three years ago when they had first come to her.

The early days were hard on all of them. They handled the public opposition quite well, but Hermione was devastated when a few people she thought were her friends turned against her; luckily, Neville was not one of them. He didn't like her decision, but he understood the situation and offered support to Hermione when she needed it.

There were many arguments between them, just as Hermione had predicted, but the more time they spent together, the stronger their bond became, and now they were unbreakable.


End file.
